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LOT 1526

Sold for (Inc. bp): £72

TURCO-MONGOL 'GREEK FIRE' CERAMIC FIRE BOMB OR HAND GRENADE
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
6 1/4 in. (452 grams, 16 cm).

Hollow vessel with piriform body, raised lugs on the shoulder with hatched banding in between the lugs, decorative band of rosettes beneath the domed mouth; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. [No Reserve]

PROVENANCE:
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s onwards.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

LITERATURE:
Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefäße aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16.

CONDITION
VETTING:
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